She closed her eyes and took a few deep breathes. She was going to screw everything up if she didn't relax. You already have him, she told herself. He came back from New York because of you. There is nothing to prove tonight. She wished she could believe it. Despite what Jim had already said, it still felt like some sort of final test. She wanted tonight to be perfect, so that they'd both know all the waiting and hurting had been for a good reason. That they really were made for each other. It seemed like a tall order to expect from a dinner date, and she knew that, so she sighed and walked away from the mirror, and headed out onto her front porch for some fresh air.

It was a reasonably warm night for May, and Pam sat on her front porch steps comfortably without a jacket. She was wearing her favorite jeans, her comfortable leather sandals, and the red blouse she had purchased online this past the summer. It has been sitting in her closet since the day it arrived, after that disastrous afternoon wearing it at the office. But tonight was the right night to bring it back out. It made her feel pretty and confident, and she knew it played up two of her best assets. She laughed at herself at the thought, wondering how much of Michael had rubbed off on her after all these years at Dunder Mifflin.

She thought back to earlier today, when Jim had left the office without telling her what to expect, or even what to wear. She called him on his cell phone, where he'd picked up on the first ring.

"Beesly," Jim answered.

"Wow, is that your new greeting?" Pam laughed.

"It's called the wonders of caller ID, Pam. You should try it sometime."

"Dork," she teased. "Hey, you didn't tell me where we are going tonight."

"Hmm. To be honest, I hadn't thought that far in advance yet."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Where would you like to go?"

Pam thought a moment. "I don't know. Somewhere casual though."

"You're sure? I'm paying."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she replied. The sound of his voice, sounding so happy in her ear, made her feel brave. "I'm stressed enough as it is without having to remember the difference between the salad fork and a regular fork."

"Stressed?" She could hear him smile. "Why would you be stressed?"

"Oh I can't imagine why. Maybe it's the hot date I've got set up for tonight."

Jim laughed. "Hot date? No pressure there."

"Exactly."

"Great, now I'm stressed."

Pam laughed even now, hours after the conversation. How was he able to do that? Even in the midst of chaos, he could make her smile. She realized that maybe she could just relax and enjoy tonight. It had been a long time since she felt that way.

She saw his car pull into the parking lot and fought the urge to run over and meet him. She couldn't resist smiling, however, and by the time he came up the path to her front porch she was standing on the bottom step, practically bouncing on her toes. So much for playing it cool, she thought.

"Hey," she called.

"Hi," he smiled. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, you aren't looking so bad yourself." In faded jeans and a green and white striped rugby pullover, Pam had to admit that he looked very nice indeed. Despite all the years she'd known him, she'd only seen him in outfits that didn't require a tie less than a handful of times. He looked so different in jeans, she thought. Younger, maybe. More interesting, definitely.

She grabbed her purse and followed him to his car. He held the car door for her as she slid in, carefully shutting it behind her. When he got in the driver's seat, he sat there for a moment, not immediately starting the car.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

He tapped the center of the steering wheel nervously. "Listen, I know we have a lot to talk about." He glanced over at her. "But I was hoping we could just kind of shelve all of that tonight, you know? Just make tonight about you and me, and see if we still remember how to have fun together."

Pam felt her nervousness dissipate when she saw his anxious look, replaced instead with a warm, fuzzy feeling of love. She couldn't resist putting her hand on his arm - she'd have given him a hug if it would have been more practical. "I think that's a wonderful idea," she enthused. "And I would be pretty surprised if we forgot how to have a good time together."

He rewarded her with a slight blush and a brilliant smile, and started the engine. They decided on Cugino's, a silent nod to the past with hopes that this time things could turn out a bit differently.

"I'm assuming you aren't going to tell me this time that you are engaged to someone else," he whispered as they were lead to their booth.

"Nope, not engaged," she replied, sliding into the seat across from him. "But I should tell you that I am sort of sweet on someone. I hope that's not going to be a problem."

Jim's eyes crinkled up as he smiled at her from behind his menu. "No, no, that's fine. I'm kind of dealing with a crush of my own."

"Oh, well good luck with that," she grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Thanks, I'm feeling pretty good about it, actually."

"I'm glad to hear it," she continued, trying to read the menu. "I think things are going to work out nicely for me, too."

"Well he's a very lucky guy then," Jim said. "You are quite a catch."

"I don't know about that," she giggled. "But I'm sure you'll make her very happy."

"That would be a nice change, wouldn't it?" He replied.

The approaching waitress delayed Pam's response to that, so instead she reached across the table and held his hand as they put in their drink and appetizer order. As the waitress walked away, Jim leaned over the table.

"She's going to think we're a couple if you keeping doing that sort of thing," he said, glancing meaningfully at their linked hands.

She leaned in as well. "That's fine by me," she replied, "and no fair making references to things we will talk about at another time, do you understand?"

Jim tilted his head and gave her a smile she hadn't seen in ages. "Absolutely I do."

They spent the meal catching up on their day - Pam tried to explain Schrute bucks while keeping a straight face, and Jim talked about how Jan's assistant Hunter looked like he was all ready to lead the charge if New Romanticism came back to the forefront of the music scene anytime soon. Mostly they kept their talk light, their stories funny, and paused just to stare at each other as if they really could not believe this was happening. Occasionally a reference to Karen or Roy would slip out, but they were very forgiving of each other's inability to stick to their rule for the night. As they split a large portion of tiramisu, Pam looked like she was about ready to pout.

"What's the matter?" Jim asked.

"This evening is going by much too fast," she replied, scooping another spoonful of the rich dessert. "I feel like it's over before it even really started."

"Who says it's over?" he mused, arching an eyebrow at her. "I don't have a curfew."

"But what could we do on a Thursday night?"

"Well, last I checked, there were these places called cinemas, where - and correct me if I'm wrong," he grinned, "they do show movies. Even on Thursday nights."

She blushed slightly. "You don't have to mock me."

He squeezed her hand. "Can I help it if you're adorable when you forget obvious things?"

"Shut up," she blushed harder and pulled the dessert plate closer. "Just for that you have forfeited the rest of the dessert."

Jim grinned. "Not a problem. I need to save room for popcorn."

When they arrived at Steamtown Mall's cineplex, one movie poster caught Jim's eye. "Perfect," he said as he pulled her over to it. "We can still make it to the late showing of 28 Weeks Later."

Pam rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. Absolutely not." She shook her head adamantly. "No way."

"Oh come on," he nudged her, using the opportunity to slip his arm around her waist. "I know you loved the first film. Don't you want to see what happens next?"

She elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "I don't think so," she said, a small smile peeking through. She slipped her arm around his waist as she pulled him toward the box office line. "But I'd be willing to go see Shrek the Third."

They bickered amiably over which film they were going to see as they stood in line. They'd shifted position and now stood hand-in-hand, but standing so close together that is was impossible to mistake them for anything but a couple in love. There was only one cashier on duty, so the line was moving slowly, and Pam had just looked up at Jim after laughing at something when all Jim could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. Right there, in front of the entire movie complex. He might even had done it, if he hadn't suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Dude, what are you doing here?"

Jim turned around to find Kevin Malone standing right behind him. "Hey, Kev," Jim said, trying his best to sound happy to see him.

Pam stepped from behind Jim. "Hey, Kevin," she said cheerfully.

"Hey, Pam. What are you guys doing here?" Kevin asked again.

"Um, going to see a movie." Jim replied. He glanced over at Pam, who was warning him with her eyes not to make her laugh. He squeezed her hand in reply. "What are you seeing?" Jim figured that whatever Kevin was going to see he and Pam would definitely avoid.

"I just got out of Spiderman 3," Kevin grinned. "It was awesome. Unbelievably awesome." He looked up at the movie times and looked back at his co-workers. "Hey, if you guys are here to see Spiderman, I'll gladly sit through it again. Stacey's out of town so I really don't have anything else to do tonight."

"Oh no," Pam spoke up. "I have a nephew that I promised to take to see Spiderman, so I don't think we're seeing that tonight." Jim gave her strange look, wondering when she'd gained a nephew, but said nothing.

Kevin looked almost crestfallen, then he noticed that Pam and Jim were holding hands. "Hey, you're here on a date, aren't you?" He said slowly, a smile spreading across his face.

Jim made a guilty face and shrugged his shoulders. "You caught us."

"Wow, and I didn't even get a chance to give you the list I'd been working on." Kevin leaned over to Jim. "You should know that you made the right decision. I ended up picking Pam, too."

Jim ignored Pam's inquisitive look. "Uh, great - thanks. I'll look forward to reading that list tomorrow, okay?"

Kevin made a thumbs up sign. "Excellent. Well, you guys have a Good Time," he said, emphasizing the last two words like he were speaking to foreigners. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He broadly winked at Jim as he walked away.

They tried to hide their giggles until Kevin was out of earshot, with only mild success. "What list?" Pam asked immediately.

"What nephew?" Jim countered, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, I didn't think we wanted a chaperone," Pam grinned. "Now what list was he talking about?"

"Please, you don't want to know."

"Tell me."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about heavy stuff tonight."

"I'll make an exception. It will drive me crazy all night if you don't tell me."

"Okay," he sighed, "Early yesterday Kevin came up and asked me who was hotter - you or Karen."

Pam smirked. "Oh, this is good. Do I want to know what you said?"

"I told him I wasn't going to have that discussion. Instead he started telling me all the various advantages each of you had, and I finally told him to spend the rest of the day making a list and for him to let me know what his decision was."

"Wow. You are corporate material. You should consider going into politics."

"Right. Like if I would have made any indication of preference it wouldn't have gotten all over the office in five minutes. I was just saving myself some grief."

"Oh, you mean like how everyone's going to know about our date now?"

Jim leaned into her. "Nah, I don't care who knows about that."

Pam smiled and said nothing. When they reached the box office she looked up at Jim expectantly, and when he bought two tickets to Shrek the Third she stuck her tongue out at him victoriously.

"Nice manners," Jim laughed. "I just thought with this being a first date and all, that I would bow to your choice."

She plucked her ticket out of his hand. "Well, get used to it. My choices usually are the correct ones."

"We'll see," he said, pulling her closer. "I expect to get something in return for the compromise, though."

Pam raised her eyebrows. "You can dream," she laughed.

True to his word, Jim ordered popcorn. Pam was still stuffed from dinner, but agreed to share a lemonade. As the were walking into the theatre, Pam started up their conversation again.

"So who won?"

"Who won what?" Jim lead her up the stairs to one of the back rows of the theatre.

"The list. Did Kevin say if he picked me or Karen?"

Jim sat down in the middle of the row, practically underneath the projection room window. "Well, you did, obviously."

Pam sat down next to him. "Oh, right. Obviously."

"Well, yeah," Jim said offering her some popcorn. "I'm pretty sure you won based on Kevin's most important criteria. I mean, at least I think it was probably his most important because it was the first thing he mentioned."

Pam rejected the popcorn and took a sip of lemonade. "And that was?"

"Breasts." Jim grinned. "Kevin apparently noticed you have bigger breasts."

"Good Lord," Pam replied. "I suppose I should have known better than to ask."

Jim nodded. Pam took another drink of her lemonade, a devilish smirk appearing. "So is that the real reason you're here then?"

Jim looked confused. "What?"

"Did you pick me over Karen because I have bigger breasts?"

"Well, no," Jim replied, "I mean, of course not. I don't even know what your -" The look on his face caused Pam to giggle. "You are very evil," he finally said, taking the lemonade out of her hand and drinking a long sip. "Just evil."

Pam laughed again and pushed up the armrest between them. "Are you blushing?" she teased, moving closer to him. The lights dimmed slightly as the previews started.

"Shh," he said, looking ahead and trying to sound serious. "I'm trying to watch the movie."

"Oh, right," she replied, moving away from him. She could play his game, too. Soon his arm was up and around her shoulder, pulling her back to his side.

"That didn't mean you had to go anywhere," he whispered in her ear. The sound of his voice so rich and low made Pam shiver slightly, and tucked in a little closer. She suddenly regretted her decision not to go see 28 Weeks Later, knowing that it would have given her the perfect excuse to cuddle up next to him. Being this close to Jim in a darkened room certainly didn't make movie watching the first thing on her mind. She hoped it wasn't the first thing on his mind either.

As the movie started, Pam was very conscious of her hands. More specifically she was conscious of the fact that she didn't know where to put her hands. Her legs crossed towards Jim, she had her left arm resting on the armrest, and the right sat carefully in her lap. But with her head leaning slightly against his shoulder, she fought the urge to put her hand on his leg. It seemed the natural thing to do, but was that too forward? She could feel Jim's eyes on her and turned her head toward him.

His look of pure affection surprised her slightly, and made her indecision moot. She put her hand gently on this thigh, and felt a release of butterflies in her stomach as she did so. His leg was warm and firm under her hand, and she could feel his fingers against her shoulder, but what really affected her was the fact that she knew he was about to kiss her. She knew that as certainly as she ever knew anything. And she thought as their lips met that she had never wanted anything more.

It was sweet and soft and gentle, as most really good first kisses were, even when they weren't technically first kisses. It made her feel giddy and lightheaded and completely oblivious to the film and the packed theatre. As Pam leaned in, her left hand moved across to rest on his stomach. Except in her distracted state she misjudged the distance, instead resting her hand firmly on the fly of his jeans. Jim literally jumped up in surprise, and Pam immediately pulled back in embarrassment.

"Oh my God," Pam whispered a little too loudly. "I am so sorry!" She could feel herself flushing crimson, as she heard Jim's muffled laugh. She was wishing the chair would swallow her up when she felt him pulling her closer with the arm that was still around her shoulder.

"I had no idea you were that kind of girl," he whispered in her ear, his amusement still evident.

"Shut up," she whispered back, folding her arms across her chest.. "It was an accident."

"Sure it was."

Pam kept her eyes on the screen, but she could feel Jim's breath still on her neck, his forehead resting against her temple. He reached over and put his right hand on hers, pulling it back onto his leg. "You want to try that again?" he asked softly.

"No," she replied, but her smile gave her away.

"Chicken," he said, kissing her cheek. She turned her head to reply to that taunt, when he caught her with a kiss. Whatever she was going to say was lost, and she resigned herself to letting him win that round. It wasn't as if losing didn't come with benefits.

It was fair to say that the rest of the film seemed to pass more or less in a blur, as the drama unfolding between the two of them was exponentially more interesting. Fortunately there was no one sitting on either side of them, but did their best to behave as if there were. They tried to keep their kissing quiet and discrete, interspersed with moments where they actually tried to act like they were watching the film, but they couldn't seem to pull it off for very long. When they weren't busy kissing, Jim seemed to enjoy reaching across Pam to grab the lemonade cup, only to take about half a sip and reach back across to put it back. Pam caught his eyes wandering over the low collar of her red blouse on more than one occasion as he did that, and when the film ended and the lights came up, she was smirking openly at him.

"What?"

"Don't give me what," she replied, standing up. "And you have the nerve to accuse me of being fast."

Jim smiled broadly, standing to follow her out of the aisle. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Really?" She replied, looking back over her shoulder at him. "So looking down my shirt was just how you like to drink your lemonade?"

He put his hand on her shoulder as they walked out. "I wasn't looking down your shirt."

"Like hell you weren't," she laughed.

He was standing right behind her as they slowly followed people out of the cinema, and leaned his head over her shoulder. "Oh, you mean like this?"

She glanced up. "Stop it," she said, leaning back into him.

"Because now I'm definitely looking."

"Stop. It." She giggled.

Once in his car, the drive back to Pam's house was unusually quiet. Jim held her hand as he drove, and Pam put the window down to let the breeze blow through the curls she'd taken so much time to create hours earlier. When he pulled into a parking spot closest to her apartment, Pam practically leapt out of the car. She didn't want to give him the chance to just end the date there. She walked around the car and opened his door.

"Come on, slowpoke," she joked, offering her hand.

"Lead the way," he smiled, and followed her up the path.

The key was already in her hand, and she pushed her front door open. "After you," she invited.

"Thanks." Jim walked in, finally getting a look at the apartment he'd first heard about months ago. "This is really nice, Pam," he commented. "I can tell it's your apartment."

She locked the door and turned around. "Is it all the clutter that gives it away?"

"No," he smiled. "I can just tell."

The approval in his tone buoyed Pam's spirits even more. This night was turning out even better than she could have possibly hoped, and without thinking she walked over and pulled him into a kiss. Within moments slow and gentle turned impassioned, and they clung to each other like they simply couldn't let go. Pam pulled back long enough to nudge him over to her couch, where she climbed eagerly across his lap and they continued as before.

It was hard to know how much time had passed when she finally sat back in his lap, his arms wrapped around her. They were both breathing hard, and with her hips still pressed intimately against his, she knew he was reciprocating her feelings. She knew they should take things slow, but she felt like they'd taken things slowly for years. She was tired of waiting. Not when she knew exactly what she wanted.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to stay," she said softly, her fingers playing with the edges of his shirt collar to hid her nerves.

Jim eyes widened at her suggestion. "Stay?" He repeated. "That sounds wonderful." Pam leaned in to kiss him again, but he put his hand over her mouth. "But what do you want to happen here tonight, Pam?"

"Everything," she replied, kissing his fingers.

She met his gaze and saw a conflicted look in his eyes. She felt uncertain, and worried she'd said the wrong thing. "What's wrong?"

"Pam, I have waited a long time for this moment. I don't want it to just be an afterthought to the evening."

"It's not," she protested. Suddenly she felt very foolish, and knew she had made assumptions she shouldn't have made. "I mean, I thought you wanted...."

"I do, trust me," Jim said, aware that she was becoming upset. "I'm just not sure tonight should be the night we do everything."

Pam stood up, biting her lower lip hard. She would not embarrass herself any further by crying in front of him. "Will you excuse me? I have to use the bathroom." She turned and fled down the hallway before Jim could even reply.

The sound of the slamming door told Jim things weren't exactly turning out the way he'd planned.